Knot-tying mechanism.



H. E. ENSLIN;

KNOT TYING MECHANISM. APPLICATION FILED 'APR.'15, 19'11.

i,170,885. Patented Feb. 8, 1916..

2 SHEETS-SHEET l- WITN E5555 Ncmus runs In: vmm; Wnsmumon o c H. E.ENSLIN. I KNOT TYING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED APR. I5. 1911.

1, 170,885 Patented Feb. 8, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

18 a I 24 WITNESSES v i H r 2g \NVENTOFQ w Z3 zw mw gf nmrnn s'ra EsPATENT OFFICE.

HERBERT E. ENSLIN, OF MALDEN,

MASSACHUSETTF, nssreivon 'ro unrrnn'snon MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PATERSON,NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW I JERSEY.

I KNOT-TYING'MECKANISM.

1,170,885. Original application filed January 30,

Specification of Letters Patent; Patented Feb, 8 1916, 1908, Serial No.413,343. Patented-June' 25,11912, No. 1,( 30,573.

Divided and this application filed April 15, 1911. Serial No. 621,329.

State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Knot- Tying Mechanisms, "and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be aiull, clear, andexact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled .in theart to which it appertains tomake and use. the same. 3

- The present invention relates to a knot tying mechanism, .and moreparticularly to a k iot tying mechanism of the type iii-which iv theknot is formed by forming a loop in the cordor cords and drawing anadjacent portion of the cord through the loop. The object of theinvention is to improve 1 the construction, arrangement and mode ofoperation of knot tying mechanisms of this With the above object inV1BW\, certain features of the invention relate .to a novel constructionand arrangement of. the loop. forming mechanism and the parts whichco-i' operate therewith to form the knot.

A further feature of the invention con templates the provisionof meansfor gripping the .cord on the side of the knot opposite the knot formingmechanism during the tightening of the. knot so that the tension putupon movement ofthe knot forming mechanism away from the gripping means.The'present invention may be embodied in various machines in which theknotting of a cord or cords is effected, the'specific construction andarrangement of parts being 'modified to cooperate with the othermechanisms with which the knotting mechanism is combined. In'an;application jfiled Jan. .30, .1908, Serial No. 413,343, .upon' which"Patent No. 1,030,573 wasgranted June 25,

a 1912 "I have shown a knotting mechanism constructed and arranged to'cooperate with mechamsm for lacing together E. ENsLIN,

the knot not affected by the amount of slack in thecord. The tighteningof the knotis preferably affected by the quarters of shoe uppers andthis mechanism is especially designed to cooperate with the other parts.of this machine andito tie the ends of the lacing together in a certainand satisfactory manner. -The present invention is a division oftheaboveapplication No.

413,343 and the knottying'.mechanism as the mechanism shown inthatapplication.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the knottin'gmechanism, certain partsthereof being shown in section; Fig. 2

- shown inthe drawings is the same inspe-' ClfiO construction andarrangement of parts pers 1 and 2, by which the ends of the lacing areheld and a guide bar 3 having a notch 1, in whichthe cords are retainedafter the completion of the lacing operation. The knotting mechanism of;the present invention is located between said grippers and the guide barand operates upon the laces or cords extending between the grippers andthe guide bar. In theconstruction shown.

the knotting mechanism is constructed to form a loop in the lacingcords, and to draw a bight of the cords through the l'oop,-and to thentighten the knot thus formed. shown in Figs. '2, 3 and 4:, the1mottingmechanism is provided with a looping post 5 formed byth'e lower ends oftwo. semicylindrical members 6 and'TJ These members are mounted in asleeve 8, andare'pro v ilded' at their lower extremities with cooperating jaws 9 and 10 for gripping the about the post. 5, and are also'moved longicord. During the tying of the knot the members 6 and 7are-rotated to .form a loop" tudinally to grip thelcord between the jawssleeve 8 is rotated to impart rotary moveion 11 which is engaged by asegmental '9 and 10 and draw'it through theloop. The

gear 12. This gear is formed on the front fslide 18.

end of a lever13, the rear end of which is acted upon by a suitable cam,not shown. The members 6 and 7 are connected to the sleeve 8 by means ofa bar let extending through a slot formed in the ad acent to movelongitudinally therein. Longitudinalmovementsare imparted to the members6 and 7 by means oflevers 15 and 16, the forward ends of which areconnected to the members, and the rear ends of which are engaged bysuitable cams, not shown.

The looping post 5 is provided with a cord retaining latch 17 which isformed upon a The slide 18 is mounted in a transverse recess in theinner face-of the member 6, so that the latch is moved radially of thelooping post by the sliding move;- ments of the slide. The latch is soformed that'when the end of the latch is in engagement with the loopingpost, an e/ye 19 is formed at the sideof the post in which the lacingcord lies during the formationof the loop on the looping post. A halfsleeve 20 is secured upon the lower end of'thesleeve 85 and ispro'videdat its lower end with a finger 21 anged to lie within a slot inthe member 7, cord'ofi' the looping post when the post is drawn upwardwithin the sleeve. The sliding' latch 17-18 is operated to'move the endofthe latch toward and away from the post 5, and'to retain the latch ineither open 'or closed ,position by means of cam surfaces 22 and 23formed on the sleeve 20 and arranged to cooperate with cam surfaces 24:and 25 formed on the latch.

In'the operation of the knot tying mechanism,. th'e members6 and 7 aremoved downward to carry the looper post 5 and latch 17' on oppositesides of the ends of the lacing cord, and thus bring the lacing cordinto the eye .19 between the latch and post. After the lower end of thelatch 17 has passed below the lacing cord, the cam surface 25 engagesthe cam surface 23, and thelatch is moved radially toward the loopingpost, so

that its lower end engages the post, thus closing the eye 19. The latchis locked in this position by'the surfaces 25 and 23 during the rotationof the post to form the loop. and until the post is raised to cast offthe loop, at which timethe cam surfaces 2* and 22 act to open thela'tchso' that the loop.

is free "to pass off the looping post. The above described arrangementpermits the latch to lie close'i'othe-looping post and thus contributesto the compactness of the knot ting mechanism.- By constructing thelatch to sl1de, and providmg means for locking it 111 position, theconstructionof the knotter .issimplified and its action rendered certainby preventing opening of the latch under and to act to strip the loopof.

of the notch in the guide 'bar '3. The two strands of the lacing cordleading from the grippers 1 and. 2 and passing through the eye 19 oftheknotting mechanism to the upper then he against a lateral extension 26formed at the lower end of the bar 3.

' This lateral extension extends below and. in .front of the knottingmechanism, and 1s provided with a forwardly projecting pin 27 whichprevents thelacing from sw1n g ing too far to the right. The frontface-of the extension 26 is grooved, and formsyap fixed jaw againstwhich the lacing is gripped by a clamping plate 28' during the knottightening operation. .The clamping '-plate 28 is formed on the forwardend of a sliding bar 29 which is operated to give the proper movementsto. the" clamping plate through a lever, the upper end, 'of'whi'ch' isconnected by a link 36- with the rear end of the bar, and the lower endof which is. acted upon by a suitable cam, not shown.

The clamping plate 28"'-'notonly acts to grip the lacing cord during theknot tightening operation, but it is also utilized as a means forcontrolling the openmg and closing of the gripper jaws mounted" on thethread arm 37, which actto grip the endsof the lacing cord and carry thecord into position to be engaged by .the jaws 9 and 10 of the knottingmechanism," as will be more 1 fully described. The gripping device forgripping the ends of the lacing and placing them in the jaws of theknottinginechanism consists of "a,

fixed jaw 30 which extends rearward from the lower end ofthe thread arm37, and a form of a thin plate arranged to overlie the jaw 30, andprovided with anup'turned front end for guiding the lacing cord betweenthe jaws, and with a finger 32 arranged to project down at the side ofthe jaw 30 and po-.

sition the cord between the jaws- The gripping plate 31 is pivoted onthe thread arm 37 and isprovidedgwith 3. depending op;

by a spring'34e' The thread arm is connected by a. link with a suitablecam operated lever by which. the proper forward and rearward movementsare imparted to the crating arm 33. The gripping plate 31' iS forcedyieldin'glytoward the fixed jawBO 4 After the upper has fallen away fromthe I.

lacing mechanism, the thread arm 37 carrying the gripping'jaWsBO and 31moves rear wardly, the spring jaw 31 of the gripping device passingoverthe lacing cord between the knot forming mechanism and the clamps 1 and2, and the operating arm 88 of t e jaw 31 riding on the plate 28 whichis moved rearwardly a short distance at this time, but not far enough toengage'the lacing cord. During the continued rearward movement of thegripping device the operating arm 33 rides off the plate'28, so that thespring jaw -31-closes against the lacing and grips the lacing againstthe fixed jaw 30. Just after the gripping device 30-31hasgripped theends of the lacing, the grippers 1 and 2 are operated to release theends of the lacing so that the lacing is taken from the grippers 1 and 2by the gripping device 30-31. About the time the gripping device 30-31reaches its rearward position, the looping post '5 is rotated, and afterit-has nearly completed a revolution, the jaws 9 and 10 are opened andpass on opposite sides of the lacing, which-has been drawn by therearward movement of the grippin evice '31 into osition to lie between te jaws 9 and 10 as t e looping post completes its rotationi-The-knotterjaws-9 and 10 are then closed,=and are moved: upward to draw the lacingthrough the loop on the loopin post which is ca's't'otf the ends of thejaws y the finger 21 and the end of the sleeve 20. r-After thelaeing-is'gripped by the knotter jaws, the gripping. evice 30-31 isgiven a-further rearward movement to draw the ends of the lacing" cordfrom between the jaws 80 and flu/Duringthe upward movement ofthe{-knotter-,jaws-9' and 10, the clam ing plate 28,:gripsthe lacingbetween the mot and the-upper, so that the knot is tightened by. theupward movement of the-jaws. This insures a uniform-tightening of theknot, since the cord is gripped on opposite sides of the knot as the twosets of gripping jaws are movedrelatively away from each other;

By placing the ends of the lacing between the gripper jaws by themovement of the gripping device which grips the ends .of the lacing. theknot may be formed close to: the ends of the lacing, so that-there issubstantially-no waste cord in the ends extending beyond the knot. Afterthe knot is completed and tightened. and the jaws of the knotter havebeen opened to release the ends of the lacing and allow the lacedupperto drop from the machine.the thread arm 37 which carries the grippingjaws 30 and 31 moves rearwardly sufficiently to carry theoperatingarm'33 of the jaw 31 off of'the plate 28, so that the jaw 31closes against the jaw '30. During the lacing operation. the thi'eadarm87 moves forward to its outer position thusbringing the o crating arm33.into engagement with the c am'ping plate 28, and opening the ripperjaw 31 reparatoryto the rearward movement of t is grippin device togripthe ends of the lacing eorr as above described.

In the operation of the knot tying mechanism. the knotter jaws firstmove downward behind the two strands of the lacing cord which lead fromthe grippers 1 and 2 to the upper, the latch 17 passing in front of andbelow the lacing, and then sliding inward to retain the ends of thelacing on the jaws of the knotting mechanism. After the completion ofthe lacing operation, the upper falls down and the cords leadingtherefrom lie against the lateral extension 26 adjaccntthe pin 27 andpass fronrsaid extcnsion through the eye of the looping post and areheld by the gripping devices 1 and 2. The thread arm 37 now movesrcarwardly to operate the gripping device 30-451, which grips the endsof the lacing cord and carries them rearwardly. The knotter then startsto rotate. and as it completes its rotation the knotter jaws pass onopposite sides of the ends of the lacing and then close. The knotterjaws are then raised to draw the threads through the loop formed on theloopin post. and the clamping plate :28 is operated to clamp the lacingbetween the knot and the upper during the continued upward movement ofthe knotter jaws, and during the tightening of the knot. After the knotis completed, the jaws of the knotter open, and the clampin plate movesoutward so that the upper falls away from the machine.

While it is preferred to employ the construction and arrangement ofparts shown and described, it will be understood that this constructionand arrangement is not essential to the broader features of theinvention and may be varied and modified without departing therefrom.

Having explained the nature and object of the invention and specificallydescribed one form of apparatus in which it may be cmbodied, what Iclaim is:

1. A knot tying mechanism, having. in combination. a cord gripperarranged to grip the free end of a cord on one side of a knot, a secondcord gripper arranged to grip the same free end of the cord on theopposite side of the knot with the remainder of the cord extendingbeyond the gripper and means to cause a relative movement between thegrippers to draw the portion of the cord between them tent and therebytighten the knot, substantially as described. I

2. A knot tying mechanism,-having, in combination, mechanism to form aloop in the free end of a cord, and to draw a bight of the cord throughthe loop. and a cord gripper arranged to grip the same free end of thecord on the side of the loop opposite said mechanism with the remainderof the cord extending beyond the gri per andaoting to grip the cordduring tie tightening of the knot. substantially as described.

3. A knottying mechanism having. in combination, mechanism'forf forminga knot in the free end of a cord, a gripper arranged to grip the freeend of'the cord on the side of the knot-opposite't-he knot formingmechanism with the remainder of the cord ex tending beyond the gripper,and meansto cause a'relative movement between the knot forming mechanismand the gripper to draw.

the portion of'the' cordbetween them tautaud ther'eby' tighten the knot,substantially as described.

4. A knot-tying mechanism, having, in

combination, means to hold the. end of acord. mechanisinfor formingaloo'pin the cord-and for drawing a hight ofthe cord adjacent to theloop'through' the loop, n1- ranged in inoperative position. and means tomove the said mechanism bodily as a whole into and out of position t0act on the cord, substantially as described. I

, Aknot'tymg mechanism hav1ng,'m

combination, a rotary looping post to form.

a. loop in the cord, cordgripping jaws to draw a bight-ofthe cordthrough the loop,

a gripper arrangedto'grip the cord on "the opp site side of the loop.and means to cause a relative movement between the gripping aws and thegripper to tighten the knot substantially as de cribed.

, .6. A knot tying mechanism having; in combination, a rotary loopingpost to form a loop in the cordycord gripping jaws carriedby said postto draw-a. bight of-thecord through the loop, av gripper to grip thecord on'the'opposite side of the loop, andxm'ean's to cause "a relativemovement between the gripping jaws and the gripper to tighten th knot;su stantially as described.

7. A knot tying mechanism having, incom combination, cord I gr'ippersarranged to grasp the ends oi a. cord, rotatableand re ciprocating jawsadjacent the'cord grippers, a gripping device provided with cordgripping jaws,-means\for actuating the gripping device to grip thecordand place it in saidfirst jaws and means for actuatingthe' firstjaws, substantially as described. '8. A knot tying' mechanismhaving. in

combination,' rotatable and reciprocating Y jaws, a sliding cordretainer mounted torotate with the jaws and arranged to retain the 'cordupon the jaws durlng th'eir rotation and to release the cord after ithas been. seized by the working faces of the jaws. means to lockthe cordretainer in cord retaining position duringthe rotation of the jaws.and-means for actuating the aws, su'bstantlally as described.

9. A knot tying mechanism having. in'

combination, a rotatable and reciprocating scribed.

looping post, cord. gripping jaws moving I with said post, a' gripperprovided with cord gripping jaws, means for actuating the grip- I per tocarry the cord into pos1tionto be gripped by the first jaws. and meansfor actuating the jaws, substantially as de- 10. A knot tying mechanismhaving, in combination, a. rotatable and reciprocating looping post..cord gripping jaws moving with said post. means for str pplng the loopofi'the end of the post, a gripper arranged to grip the cord onthe sideof the knot 0pposite the said gripping jawsand means to relativelyactuate the jaws and gripper to tighten the knot. substantially asdescribed.

.11. A knot tying mechanism having. in combination. rotatable andreciprocating jaws. a sliding latch mounted to rotate with the jaws andarrangeddo retain the cord upon the jaws during their rotation and torelease the cord after it has been seized by g the working faces of theaws. means to lock the latch in. cord retaining posltion, and

'mcans for actuating the latch and jaws, subj stantially as described.-I

12. A knot tying mechanism having, in;

'combination. means to hold the end. of a cord, a knot forming-mechanismarranged to? act on the cord adjacent the holding means, a deviceprovided with cord gripping-jaws arranged to engage the corclbetween-the.knot forming mechanism and the holding means and means to'actu'ate saiddevic to grip the cord and take it .from the holding means.substantially as described; g

13. A knot tying. mechanism having. in combination, means for holdingthe end of} a cord, a, knot forming mechanism provided;

' with jaws arranged to a'ct upon the cord'ad-i jaws andf means forsliding said latch toward andzfrom the jaws as, the jaws are re-j'ciprocated. substantially as described.

15'. A knot tying mechanism having; inj combmation, a. rotatable loopingpost, a?

4 cord'retaining latch mounted to slide trans-E versely in said post.and means for operating; the latch and post, substantially as'described.16. A knot tying mechanism having, inf combination, a rotary andreciprocating looping post, cord gripping jaws carried by} thepost.means forrotating the post to for 5 a loop and operating thegrippers to draw a cord through the loop, and means for gripping thecordon the opposite side of the knot to cause a tightening-of the cordbetween the gripping jaws and gripping means as the jaws move away fromthe gripping means and thereby tighten the .knot, substantially asdescribed.

17 A knot tying mechanism, having, in combination, means to hold the endof a 10 cord,a knot forming mechanism arranged in inoperative position,and means to move the knot forming mechanism bodily as a whole towardand from the cord into and out of operative position with relation tothe cord, substantially as described.

HERBERT E. ENSLIN.

-Witnesses.

ELMER B. GRUSH, CHARLES E. GRUSH.

7' (5 min at this patentmay be obtainefi for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents.-

' Washington, 1L6.

